NEW YORK (AFP)  An internet vote by fans will determine the winner of the National Basketball Association Slam Dunk Contest for the first time at next month's high-leaping spectacle, the league announced here Monday.

Minnesota's Gerald Green will defend his crown February 16 against Orlando's Dwight Howard and debutantes Rudy Gay of Memphis and Jamario Moon of Toronto in the all-American event.

A judging panel will decide which two players advance to the final. In the championship round, the low scorer will shoot first and each finalist will make two slam dunks before fan polls open on-line and through text messaging.

Each judges' vote will count only as much as a fan's vote in deciding the winner.

Green, who leaped a table and jammed a windmill dunk through the hoop for a perfect score of 50 in last year's final, will try to become the first repeat champion in the contest since Jason Richardson in 2003.

The only other back-to-back winner was Michael Jordan in 1997 and 1998 but the days of such star players taking part in the showcase have long since passed.

saying too many dudes are Tyson Chandler, trying
to lead their teams and went nowhere

Scarborough, We Go Hard..

Join Date: Dec 2007

Posts: 6,634

Representing:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. J. Naismith

I hate it as well because it then makes it a popularity contest and not based on who might actually do the best dunk that night. :mad:

I was afraid of that too, but fans know a sick dunk when they see it. I'll give them more credit. Gerald Green should be in the finals. After all, he isn't getting PT as it is, so he should have all the time in the world to be practicing.

kicking himself for being so emotionally invested
in the Roller-coaster Raptors

Senior Member

Join Date: Dec 2007

Posts: 1,538

Representing:

I'm not sold on the fan voting either.

With that said, fans do, at least, have the benefit of instant replays.

Remember the reaction to Vince's elbow dunk when you watched it on TV? It was shocking, yet the fans at the event didn't react until they saw it on replay on the big screens because they couldn't make out what was going on. The judges were similarly unimpressed from their vantage point, because they couldn't really see what happened.

Ditto Dwight's sticker dunk - it was incredible, but it didn't look like anything to the judges except a guy dunking and slapping the backboard.